_Resolved_, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiery of our army and the sailors of our navy, who are and have been in the field and on the sea, under the flag of our country; and, in the event of its attaining power, they will receive all the care, protection, and regard that the brave soldiers and sailors of the Republic have so nobly earned. The renomination of Lincoln by the Republican National Convention was so entirely assured early in the year that the Republican opponents of the President made a desperate effort to crystallize an opposition to Lincoln of such formidable character as to compel the national convention to choose another candidate. The call for the Republican convention to meet at Baltimore was issued on the 22d of February, and very active efforts were made by the leaders of the opposition to place a Republican ticket in the field before Lincoln could be renominated. A mass convention was called, to meet at Cleveland on the 31st of May, and some three hundred and fifty responded to the call. John Cochrane, of New York, was made permanent president, and without the formality of a ballot John C. Fremont was nominated for President and John Cochrane for Vice-President by acclamation. Both promptly accepted the nominations, but instead of inspiring Republican revolt against Lincoln, as was anticipated, the nominations gave no exhibition of popular strength, and after considerable conference between the insurgents and the regulars, Fremont and Cochrane announced their retirement from the contest on the 21st of September, and urged the re-election of Lincoln. The following platform was adopted by the Fremont convention: _First._ That the Federal Union shall be preserved. _Second._ That the Constitution and laws of the United States must be observed and obeyed. _Third._ That the Rebellion must be suppressed by force of arms, and without compromise. _Fourth._ That the rights of free speech, free press, and the habeas corpus be held inviolate, save in districts where martial law has been proclaimed. _Fifth._ That the Rebellion has destroyed slavery, and the Federal Constitution should be amended to prohibit its re-establishment, and to secure to all men absolute equality before the law. _Sixth._ That integrity and economy are demanded at all times in the administration of the Government, and that in time of war the want of them is criminal. _Seventh._ That the right of asylum, except for crime and subject to law, is a recognized principle of American liberty; that any violation of it cannot be overlooked, and must not go unrebuked. _Eighth._ That the national policy known as the “Monroe Doctrine” has become a recognized principle, and that the establishment of an anti-republican government on this continent by any foreign power cannot be tolerated.